By Minaz Kerawala, Communications and Public Relations Advisor
Our Advent stories this year are harrowing yet heartening accounts sent to us from the Holy Land by our partner, Caritas Jerusalem. As the world has stood by watching, nearly 45,000 people have been killed and more than 104,000 have been injured in Gaza over the past 14 months. But even with Israeli bombs raining around them, obliterating life and all that sustains it, Caritas Jerusalem has vowed, “We remain committed to our mission of peace and hope.” These are the stories of their staff, who surmount unimaginable challenges to deliver aid and succour, an effort enabled in part by the generosity of Development and Peace ― Caritas Canada’s supporters.
“Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
― Ephesians 3:20-21
Like bright, happy young people anywhere in the world, 26-year-old Abir Abu Mutlak savoured all aspects of her daily life, even the mundane ones. Despite Israel’s virtual siege on her Gazan homeland, there was what she called “a comforting sense of routine.”
And so, Abir enjoyed cooking, grocery shopping, hanging out with her siblings and visiting Gaza City’s famed Al-Jundi al-Majhoul park. She also “loved waking up and going to work” and especially cherished walking home along the beachfront. “The sea is deeply significant to Gazans—it’s where we go to have fun, hold picnics and even celebrate weddings,” Abir explained, adding, “It’s also a place for reflection, to find solace when life feels overwhelming.”
But those seaside strolls and reassuring rhythms were in what seems like another life now. Because Israel has been unleashing a maelstrom of violence that, after enjoying over a year of impunity, is now being characterized in the weightiest of terms (e.g., see recent reports from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch).
Catastrophic disruption, tragic loss
Reading situations and assessing risk was part of Abir’s job as Caritas Jerusalem’s project coordinator for socio-pastoral interventions in Gaza. About Hamas’s horrific attacks on October 7, 2023, she said, “I knew immediately that this would escalate into something catastrophic. My first thought was, ‘Is this the war where I lose someone I love?’”
Three days later, the war reached her doorstep. On the night of October 10, Israel bombed the building opposite hers. Being the sort who takes charge, Abir woke the 60 families in her building and organized them to evacuate. “We fled into the night, leaving behind everything,” she recalled.
When the friend’s house they sheltered in was also bombed a week later, Abir’s family moved into the Orthodox cultural and social centre. But that refuge, too, had to be abandoned shortly because of Israeli airstrikes.
With a wheelchair-bound father unable to travel far, the family could not move to the southern regions that the Israelis had declared safe (only to bomb later, but that had not been known then). Through a supervisor’s connections, Abir secured a place at the YMCA.
“For two months, we lived the harsh reality of displacement,” Abir recounted. “Food and water became scarce, markets were emptied, and prices skyrocketed. Access to cash was impossible, with banks bombed, and we waited in despair for aid to reach us.”
The smell of fear was everywhere. Abir said, “Tanks surrounded us, and every movement carried the risk of death.” They fled once again to another friend’s vacant home, where they kept getting besieged by the Israeli occupation forces. “These periods were marked by extreme hunger, a lack of drinking water and no medicine for my parents,” Abir recalled.
On July 12, Abir’s dark premonition was realized. Her mother succumbed to a heart attack brought on by the stress of the besiegement. “That was the most devastating moment of my life,” Abir lamented. “As the oldest daughter, I am now responsible for my family.”
Not giving up, not giving in
Before the war, Abir used to call on families involved in projects, report on their status and record their stories to help highlight the positive impacts of Caritas Jerusalem’s work. Now, Israel’s blind sniping and strafing make moving around extremely dangerous. Home visits have also become rare because, Abir said grimly, “For many, there are no homes left to visit.”
But Abir was only curbed, never cowed.
“Despite these challenges, we continue to push forward,” she reported. “I still visit beneficiaries when it’s safe because if we don’t, the projects that hundreds of families depend on could stall.”
Abir admits that the war has exacted an emotional toll and sapped her energy and enthusiasm. Yet, she said, “The impact of our work and the lives we touch remind me why we keep going, no matter how difficult it gets.”
Imagine all the people…
Abir has seen and shared the “unimaginable suffering” of the people, including the psychological impacts on children and adults. Their resilience in the face of it all keeps her motivated. When that, too, isn’t enough, she turns her mind’s eye inward.
“What keeps me going is my imagination,” Abir revealed. “It’s my anchor during the day, helping me push through my tasks, and at night, it gives me the comfort I need to sleep.”
She imagines hugging her loved ones. She imagines allowing herself to cry her heart out. She imagines seeing her grandmother and aunt again. She imagines holding her aunt tightly to help her cope with a bereavement. She imagines getting the best treatment for her father so he can walk again. She imagines her sister returning to school and rediscovering joy. She imagines her brothers earning degrees and building their futures.
In unguarded moments, she even thinks about herself. About finding love, settling down and building a home as warm and comforting as the one her mother had built. About the novel she’d like to write one day and about the film she’d like to turn it into.
More than that, she imagines all the people healed. She imagines them recovering from the loss of lives and human dignity. She imagines positive change and a chance to rebuild. And above all, she imagines peace.
A message for the world
“The international community’s response to the situation in Gaza has been disappointing,” Abir said plainly. She has heard the platitudes and seen the handwringing. But, she said, “The absence of decisive measures to address the humanitarian crisis and bring an end to the violence highlights a troubling gap between rhetoric and reality.”
In Abir’s estimation, “The people of Gaza deserve more than statements of support.” She declared, “I urge the world to move beyond words and take tangible steps to uphold the principles of humanity and international law.”
With Canada, Abir feels a special connection, and it’s not because The Weeknd is her favourite artist. It is our youth who have endeared our county to her. She said, “The powerful protests led by your students and communities have educated the world about what’s happening here, amplifying voices that might otherwise have gone unheard.”
To Christians, Abir said, “As you celebrate with your loved ones, know that your prayers, your voices and your compassion have not only reached us but have given us strength. Christmas reminds us of our shared humanity, which sees beyond borders and brings hope to those in need. May this season inspire us to continue carrying the light of peace and love into the world.”
In this season of possibilities, please keep spreading the light of generosity so that our partners can help beleaguered people in the Holy Land and around the world imagine and realize better futures for their children and themselves.
Also read:
